A Lost Friend
by miji-chan
Summary: ON HOLD. A girl who grew up with Akane, living with the Tendo family, has now been missing for more then a year. When she returns shortly after the Saotomes arrival, it seems that the Tendo family are not the only one's she knows.
1. Chapter 1

Lost and Found

Ch 1

'Kay everone, this is my new attempt at a Ranma 1/2 fanfic. I hope you like it and would throroughly enjoy feedback! Thanks!

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As usual, it was chaos at the Tendo household. Ranma, or Ran-chan now, and Genma were fighting in their cursed forms in the backyard close to the koi pond. Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi were eating breakfast, which mainly consisted of chiding their younger sister.

When Ranma, now in male form, and Genma finally joined the others at the table they had a food fight that resulted in Akane pulling Ranma, by the pigtail, out of the house saying that they would be late for school. She quickly grabbed their bags and lunches from Kasumi and ran off down the street.

Ranma finally got away from Akane and hopped onto the fence, grabbing his things when his fiancé recklessly threw them at him.

They continued running to the school and got there just as the large clock on the tower struck 8:30. Less then a minute later a herd of boys came pouring out of the front doors of the school, carrying a diverse variety of objects.

Akane threw her bag and lunch to Ranma who was crouching on the wall and began methodically taking out the boys.

A few minutes later all the boys were laying on the ground in mild stages of consciousness. Finally Ranma leapt off the wall and lightly landed beside Akane, silently admiring her work, but out loud he said,

"You are so not cute. No wonder they attack you every morning."

Akane turned to glare at him. "Quiet you." She yanked her things away from the boy and began walking towards the building. "Come on, we're going to be late!" Ranma caught up with her in time to hear her say, "If only Toki was still here."

"Who's Toki?" Ranma questioned as they rushed into their classroom just as the bell chimed. His short-haired fiancé sighed as she emptied the contents of her bag onto the desk.

"She's a friend of mine, she doesn't have any family so Toki lives with us at the dojo. My father gives her lessons in our martial arts style while she's with us." Akane paused to make sure that the teacher hadn't come in yet. "That is," she sighed, sat down and rested her chin in her hand, "until she disappeared a year or so ago. No one's heard or seen her since, nothing."

"Wow." Ranma commented, and Akane skeptically raised an eyebrow at him, "I think that's the most you've ever said to me without an insult." He smiled playfully at her. She glared but just then the teacher walked in and began class.

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After school Ranma and Akane met up again, the cursed boy nursing several goose eggs from his fiancé.

They ran home together, bickering the entire way, when the dojo came into view Ranma leapt up onto the roof and roof-hopped his way to the dojo, beating Akane inside the yard by only a few seconds.

"Heh heh, beat you!" Ranma chided, making Akane narrow her eyes and walk up to him, getting right in his face. After a minute's pause she raised her hand and slapped him, hard.

"Akane, what was that for?" He asked startled, causing him to fall back a few steps. This made him stop on the top of a slippery rock, causing him to lose the balance he always boasted about, and topple into the koi pond.

There was a loud splash accompanied by an equally loud shriek.

"Akane! You uncute, tom-boy, temperamental, rotten fiancé, girl!" shouted a now wet, red-headed female Ranma. But Akane only grinned mischievously at him, turned on her heel and strode away into the house.

Ran-chan let out a growl of anger and disgust, climbed out of the pond and sat sulking on a rock, wringing her shirt out. "Stupid tom-boy, using my curse against me."

After sitting there sulking for a few minutes, or more like half an hour, there was a loud, thunderous knock on the gate.

"Ranma-kun, would you answer that please?" Kasumi's voice called from inside the house. After that there was a mocking response by a voice that could only be Akane's.

Ranma stood up on the rock, wrung out her shirt once more and made her way to the front gate.

The knocking stopped when Ran-chan unlatched the gate and swung it open to reveal a small brown-haired girl standing at the gate, wearing a Chinese shirt and pants just like Ran-chan himself/herself liked to wear.

"Hello."

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Sorry its so short. puppy eyes Didja like it though? I hope so... anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Also I might be changing the title, so if anyone has any ideas they'd be most welcome. ;)

Ja ne

miji-chan


	2. Chapter 2

A Lost Friend

Ch 2

Hey everyone! I know it seemed like I had forgotten about this story, but I really hadn't. I promise. It just took me a little longer then usual to write another chapter...and for Ashchan to beta it.

Please enjoy! Once again, sorry this took so long!

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Ran-chan stared at the girl for a few minutes, puzzling over her familiarity, and then responded, "hi."

The girl smiled and shifted the bag on her shoulder, she opened her mouth to reply when someone else spoke nearby.

"Ran-chan, who is it?" Akane asked as she walked up to stop behind her fiancé. She gasped and her face broke out into a brilliant smiled when she recognized the visitor.

"Hey ne-chan."

Akane ran to the girl and enveloped her in a hug. "Toki!" The girl laughed and hugged her back, matching her friend's smile.

Ran-chan stood off to the side, politely detaching herself from the reunion. But after the girl's split apart, Toki turned towards Ranma, but addressed Akane, "Ne, did your family grow while I was gone?"

The short-haired girl stared, then looked at Ranma. When she realized what her friend was talking about, she laughed and answered, "no, not at all." Akane turned towards Ran-chan, a scowl marring her face. "Ran-chan," she said in a carefully controlled tone, "don't you want to go get some hot water?"

The red-head scowled at his fiancé and shouted, "why the heck are you getting upset about it? You're the who did this to me!" But it only took for Akane to glare at him and clench her fist, for Ran-chan to gulp and quickly walk away back into the house for a pot of boiling water.

"So where have you been for all this time Toki? All of us really missed you."

Her friend got a really upset look on her face and turned away. "There's nothing really to tell Akane, but thanks for worrying about me."

Akane looked curiously at her friend but before she could comment, Ranma returned in his usual form. When she saw Ranma, Toki gasped and stared at him.

"Toki? What's wrong? Akane asked surprised.

"Ma-kun?" The brown-haired girl whispered, then proceeded to hug Ranma, tightly wrapping her arms around him. She stepped back grinning, I haven't seen you in ages!"

Ranma leaned in to stare closely at her, then his eyes widened in recognition. "Ki-chan!"

Toki smiled, "thank goodness, for a moment I thought you had forgotten about me." Ranma shook his head, "nah uh."

Beside them, Akane looked very confused. "Toki? Ranma? You two know each other?"

"Yeah-"

"Yep-"

They laughed at themselves. "Go ahead Ma-kun, we wouldn't want to confuse her with two different stories," Toki invited, and Ranma look confusedly at her before continuing.

"Yep, me n' Ki-chan,"

"Ki-chan and I." Akane interrupted at which Ranma stuck out his tongue at her.

"Anyway, we were friends for a while when we were little, until Pops n' I had to leave the village cause we'd racked up such a big food bill." He continued, gesturing with his hand.

Toki laughed, "not as much 'had to leave' as 'got run out of the village.' I remember that, the resteraunt owner and hotel owner chased you two out, wielding a club and a spoon."

"Ha ha," Akane chuckled, a hand over her mouth and eyes closed.

"It is NOT funny Akane." Ranma protested, but his fiancé waved a hand at him.

Toki smiled, "it actually is Ran-chan. I always laugh at that memory."

"Anyways," Ranma said with an eyeroll, "how've you been Toki? Sorry I didn't recognize you."

"Mm, I'm fine thanks. Don't worry about me, Ma-chan." She narrowed her eyes and poked him with her forefinger. "You, however, seem to have much to tell."

Ranma held his hands behind his back, titled his head and pursed his lips as if whistling. "Who, me?" he seemed to be saying innocently.

"Yes, YOU." Toki emphasized, poking him again, harder this time.

The boy sighed defeatedly and slouched. "Fine, but can we go inside? It's freezing, out here."

Toki whacked him on the head, "you dummy, of course you're cold. You're wearing a sleeveless top." Ranma stuck his tongue out at her and darted off into the house before she could hurt him.

"He's still as hopeless as ever." The girl commented, and Akane laughed, wrapped an arm around her friend and led her into the house.

After taking a step inside the door, sliding their shoes off, the black haired girl called loudly, "Hey everyone! Guess who's back!"

Half a minute later, there came thundering footsteps and Soun Tendo squashed Toki as he nearly squashed her onto the floor. Just in time she dodged off safely to the side, leaving Tendo to fall flat on the floor, then stay there while crying dramatically.

A few seconds later Kasumi and Mabiki curiously stuck their heads in through the door. "Akane, what-"

"Toki-chan!" Kasumi exclaimed quietly, clasping her hands together in delight.

The guest smiled and waved her hand, "hello again."

Nabiki walked up to Toki, then narrowed her eyes studiously. "You're thinner," she commented lightly. Then looked up and down at the girls profile, "what are with those clothes?"

Toki frowned and shrugged her shoulders, "I just like them. They're comfortable, and I got into the habit of wearing them after," she noticed the rapid head shakes Ranma was making while he hid in the other room, and she abruptly stopped talking.

"They're like Ranma's." Nabiki stated, glancing up at the wearer.

She gave a nervous laugh and began fidgeting with the edge of her shirt, "I guess we both just enjoy the same type of fashion."

Nabiki looked skeptical, but didn't comment further.

Kasumi, changing the topic, announced sweetly that dinner was ready, if anyone was hungry.

This announcement was met with a loud "whoop" from Ranma, who then rushed into the dining room.

The girls laughed at him and followed the wild teen to the table, at a much slower pace. Not surprisingly, Soun was already at the table, stuffing his face.

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After dinner all of them sat around talking, while Ranma and Toki snuck out of the room to talk by themselves. She dragged him there by a firm grip on his pigtail, with Ranma complaining the entire way.

"Quiet Ma-kun." Toki scolded, and then quiet resumed until she slid open the door to the dojo, dragged Ranma in, and closed it.

"C'mon Toki… what gives?" The boy complained when she suddenly lifted him by the pigtail and threw him across the dojo floor. Ranma being Ranma, he flipped in mid air and landed on his feet in a fighting pose.

His friend glared angrily at him, and stalked over to him. "'What gives?' Your language slang is as horrible as ever. And you still always want to start a fight." She tsked softly, while shaking her head back and forth gently, continuing to glare.

"What's up with the scolding Ki-chan? You're acting weird." Ranma commented curiously, relaxing into a normal standing pose.

"Oh my gosh you're impossible! Of course I'm acting weird! I came back to the Tendo dojo, where I've lived for the past who knows how many years-and here you are, living with them, as if you're part of the family! And, to boot, the first time I see you in more than eight years, you're a girl! What's your excuse?"

The teen sighed and rubbed the back of his head, smiling dumbly. "Ah, yeah, right." He paused, as if to hope Toki would forget.

But she didn't, and when he received an angry scowl the boy quickly continued.

"Oh, right. Well, after I left the Amazons-and I'm sorry about that- my dad dragged me to the cursed springs to train together. The two of us stood on poles opposite each other, waiting. He started- jumping off the pole, heading straight at me. I lept up, kicked him into the water and landed back on the pole. Pops suddenly jumped up at me from the water-but now he was a panda!"

Ranma stopped in his explanation when Toki suddenly gasped and stiffened, her face growing pale.

"Toki? You okay?"

The girl started and whispered softly, "go, go on."

He gave her a weird look before saying, "I was so shocked, that pops kicked me off the pole and I was unable to recover myself in time-and fell into another pool. When I came spluttering to the surface… I was a girl."

They stood in silence for several minutes until Toki gave a wail of anguish, turned quickly on her heel and stomped out of the dojo.

Ranma stared after her, wondering what on earth was going on, when he head a splash from the direction of the pond, and decided to investigate.

At the edge of the pool stood a figure shrouded in darkness, except for the faint spot of light from the street, outlining their body- showing a teenager of medium height with short, blond hair.

The young Saotome cautiously walked forward until he was standing a yard away from the strange boy. "Who're you!"

The boy slowly half-turned back, turning his head to peek at Ranma with grey-blue eyes. "You don't recognize me Ranma?" The person asked, smiling sadly, their eyes emotionless.

"Huh?" Ranma asked startled, then strode over to the stranger until they were standing face-to-face. After observing the other for several minutes, while the stranger watched blankly, Ranma straightened and shook his head. "Sorry, don't know you."

The unknown teen, who was slightly taller then Ranma, smiled partially. "Of course you don't," the boy said, then slowly closed and opened his eyes. "It's me Ma-kun. I'm Toki."

Ranma stared wide-eyes, then backed up a few steps. "No, no you can't be. Toki's a girl!" He spluttered, then at the bemused expression he continued, "You see, Toki's about this tall," the teen motioned with his hand, "and she has long brown hair, and I guess what you'd call hazel eyes, and…"

"I'm cursed too, Ma-kun."

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Yes, a cliffhanger. I'm sorry, but that seemed the best way to end this chapter.

More about Toki and Ranma's history will come soon, as well as why Toki is cursed.

Well, I hope everyone liked it! Thanks for reading, and please please leave a review! Sorry this took so long, and for awhile this story will still be on hold, so it will be awhile once again.

Thanks to JWG, Tuki, Nysk and Howard Russell for reviewing! I hope I did better this time!

ja ne,

mijichan


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